The red-carpeted Devils locker room was empty but for the cluster of people in the back left corner, listening intently to the big Czech center holding court.

Truth is, Bobby Holik is always holding court.

The man has an opinion about everything, from George W. and the terrorists to Mats Sundin's face-off tactics, and he'll talk as long as it takes to make you see it his way.

Wednesday night after a 3-2 win over Atlanta, Holik had plenty to yack about. His snap shot from the right circle with five minutes left in the third period banged in and out of the net, and what would have been the go-ahead goal was waived off by the referee.

"I don't know what the goal judges were doing up there. Maybe they were having snacks or something, or packing up their stuff to beat traffic at the end of the game," said Holik. "Or maybe we just picked them up off the Turnpike."

Reporters from Toronto were in town early to question the Devils about their Friday night game against the Leafs, the first reunion between Tie Domi and Scott Niedermayer since the former flattened the latter in the conference semifinals last season.

"Unfortunately for Scott, he had a pretty bad headache," said Holik, "but Domi hurt their team more than he hurt us."

The Czech was candid until the conversation turned to the rumors swirling around his declaration that he felt he would be traded. Holik kept talking but he said little. "I'll keep those things to myself. There are some things I just don't want to share with you guys," he said.

A reporter piped up, "Why stop now?"

"I can't answer," said Holik. "The only one who can is you-know-who, and you won't get any more out of him, either."

You-know-who is Devils GM Lou Lamoriello, the man behind the curtain in New Jersey whose influence can silence even the loquacious Holik.

Until Lamoriello starts talking, we'll have to be content with Holik's verbose runarounds. "I like the situation I'm in now," he says. "People say, 'he has a lot to say, but can he play?' It's nice to talk the talk, but it's always good to walk the walk."

And Holik has always walked the walk. It's hard to imagine the Devils without the big man they've had in the middle for the past nine seasons.

It's even harder to imagine the back left corner of the locker room without its post-game session of "Late Night with Bobby."

E-mail Lindsay Berra at lindsay.berra@espnmag.com.